On January 7 I posted to the JewishGen Discussion Group a reply in the JewishGen Digest of December 22, 2008, where a researcher asked for a "definitive answer" to a question paraphrased as "Are Ellis Island passenger manifests perfectly complete?" Marian Smith, historian, United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) wrote a very detailed and extensive answer with charts. Following that posting there were more queries regarding missing Ellis Island manifests and whether they had been split.

Marian has done more research. Her updated reply with an entry devoted to the question whether the Ellis Island cabin manifests were "split" from steerage manifests prior to 1903, can be found on her blog: www.mariansmith.com.

Marian's comments on her personal blog is not in her official capacity, but as an avid historian, genealogist and very knowledgeable person.